Singapore Sustainability Symposium Report
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World Power in Renewable Energy
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Costa Rica is a global leader in renewable energy production. Former Minster of Energy and Environment for this Central American country, Alvaro Umana told this to the Singapore Sustainability Symposium this month. This has been made possible by capitalising on natural resources and due to the strong Government commitment to energy renewables. During 2017, Costa Rica achieved the admirable 300-day in a row mark in which its electric system relied exclusively on renewable sources. Costa Rica has also provided global leadership in climate action through Christiana Figueres and her brother Jose Maria Figueres, a former President.
Read more
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Permanent Environmental Degradation Feared.
When the distinguished American Research Professor William Laurance tells the Singapore Sustainability Symposium earlier this month that China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is "a risky investment" you would expect raised eye-brows and intense questioning. He backs up his claims in the paper just published in
Nature
Sustainability.
He urges China to undertake urgent safeguards "to limit the risks of its stunningly ambitious" infrastructure programme. The James Cook University Professor, who heads the Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS), says BRI is "arguably the environmentally riskiest venture in human history", slated to cost US$8 trillion and involve some 7,000 infrastructure and extractive-industry projects that will span half the planet.
Read the paper here.
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The fifth annual Singapore Sustainability Symposium (S3), held on 2-4 May, was organised by the Sustainable Earth Office (SEO) of the Nanyang Technological University. It has become an international platform to support sustainability and urban solutions to highlight multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder collaborations that support sustainable cities. The format and discussion process was organised around sessions representing the three key pillars of sustainability solutions: Technology and Innovation; Laws and Governance; and Economics and Financial Incentives. The event was ably chaired once again by Professor
Alexander Zehnder.
For photos and reports go here.
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Sustainable World Resources Dialogue
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Management Education in Sustainability
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Strategic Management
for Sustainability in Singapore
The 2-day executive workshop on 21-22 June in Singapore is designed for board members, directors, senior management and other professionals from the private, public and NGO sectors. Strategic skills gained include systems thinking and SWOT analysis for sustainability issues. It is focused on exploring the strategic risks and opportunities associated with sustainability issues such as climate change, land use change, water and food security, and corporate social responsibility. It covers a range of critical aspects – political, social, economic, legal and environmental. The course also includes a number of sustainability case studies from Singapore and ASEAN countries. The workshop has been developed by industry experts and delivered in over 20 countries. Attendance for this workshop contributes two days credit towards the 10-day intensive ‘fast-track’ Australian Government
Diploma of Sustainable Operations
(which will be held from 27 August to 7 September 2018 in Singapore).
For more go to LSBF
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Singapore: Sustainability Events Capital
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The Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) - from 8 - 12 July - is the global platform to share and co-create innovative water solutions. It gathers stakeholders from the global water industry to share best practices, the latest technologies and tap business opportunities.
The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize honours outstanding contributions by individuals or organisations towards solving the world’s water challenges by developing or applying innovative technologies, policies or programmes which benefit humanity.
Read all about it.
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The biennial World Cities Summit is an exclusive platform for government leaders and industry experts to address liveable and sustainable city challenges, share integrated urban solutions and forge new partnerships. Jointly organised by Singapore’s Centre for Liveable Cities and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, key highlights of the Summit include the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, the annual World Cities Summit Mayors Forum, and Young Leaders Symposium.
See the full programme here.
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The biggest challenge in reducing food waste is changing long-standing perceptions and consumption patterns. One way to drive that change is to educate consumers of the potential savings from reducing food waste, says Dalson Chung, CleanEnviro Summit Singapore managing director and National Environment Agency director. Food waste is but one of the major global issues unearthed and addressed at CleanEnviro Summit themed ‘Transforming Tomorrow’s Cities with Clean Environment Solutions’.
For more.
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Regain Paradise and New Ventures
promote clean technology innovation in Asia and Africa to serve the needs of the current and future generations in a sustainable manner. On 11 July, 10 Indian clean tech and clean energy projects/funds - fast growing entrepreneurial businesses - will be showcased to the investment community in Singapore.
Go to Regain Paradise for more
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The Asia Sustainability Reporting Summit 2018
will be held in Singapore from 2-3 October. The Summit’s theme this year is Sustainability Reporting: Beyond Transparency. The Summit will explore how businesses can integrate business strategy with sustainability reporting to drive long term value and business growth.
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Sustainable Growth Tech hub.
Against the backdrop of climate change, pressure on agriculture, food security, and population growth, how might we leverage emerging technologies and develop new business models to solve global grand challenges? The opportunity to pioneer the future of Sustainable Growth Tech with startups, corporates and ecosystem partners at LEVEL3, Mapletree, on Thursday 24 May at 6pm.
Book in here.
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I
ndustry Innovation in the Year of Climate Action. A roundtable discussion on 31 May for Eco Action Day brings together senior business and academic leaders to discuss the full potential of sustainable industrialisation and infrastructure development in the presence of Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health.
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Turning Plastic Bottles into Art
. Driven by an urgent need to address plastic pollution, UN Environment is calling on all stakeholders to rethink thei approach and establish a new plastic economy. With its
World Environment Day 2018 campaign #BeatPlasticPollution
, UN Environment is making a call for collaborative action to change the way we manage plastic pollution. In Singapore, City Developments Limited and Global Initiatives, with the support of UN Environment, is collaborating with the Ministry for the Environment and Water Resources, National Environment Agency and other partners to join 12 other Asia Pacific cities for this campaign. Here we will build a series of ‘live’ art installations using discarded plastic bottles to build awareness and spread the message to the wider community.
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THE LARGEST SOCIAL INVESTING CONFERENCE IN ASIA.
The AVPN Conference is on in Singapore
4-7 June, plus
the Asia Policy Forum (APF), a platform to build an enabling environment for the social economy to flourish. AVPN Coference
has a big agenda but aims to cover in three plenary sessions: Accelerating women’s empowerment; Sustainable finance and impact investment; and Building the education ecosystem.
For much more.
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Risks and Opportunities in a Low Carbon Economy
This one day course on 14 June at SEAS will be given by Marc Allen, a chemical engineer, specialising in greenhouse gas (GHG), sustainability and renewable energy, As 2018 has been designated the Year of Climate Action and regulation in the form of a carbon tax is in the process of being implemented, the local context of climate change action will be explained.
Read more
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With the Year of Climate Action in mind, the Building and Construction Authority (Singapore), together with its strategic partners, Singapore Green Building Council and Reed Exhibitions, is pleased to announce the theme for IGBC 2018 - "Build Green: Build Smart. Build Communities". It's part of what is now being called the
Singapore Green Building Week.
Read more
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The Energy Market Authority (EMA) has announced the theme for the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) from 29 October to 2 November 2018. “Transforming Energy: Invest, Innovate, Integrate”, which reflects how the deployment and integration of new technologies, and the growth in energy demand are transforming the energy landscape.
For much more.
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Demise of Coal in the Year of Climate Action?
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“Coal will go into its own obsolescence with the deceleration of the cost of renewables. There’s already grid parity between coal and solar," says Loren Legarda. The Philippines Senator explained that with coal becoming more expensive and renewables becoming cheaper, governments are likely to pursue green growth as the private sector also shifts to green investments. Singapore's Professor Simon Tay backed the Senator: “The case against coal is not just environmental but a moral case and also a business case.”
Read more
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A new report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has detailed how the UK can completely phase-out coal power without the need for extra gas plants. In 2015, the UK Government
pledged to remove
all coal plants by 2025 to reduce carbon emissions in the fight against climate change, along with improving air quality.
The Coal to Clean report, published with climate think tank Sandbag, shows the strong progress being made towards this goal with 5 out of 7 coal plants already replaced.
Read More
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French renewable energy developer Neoen has officially begun work on the Bulgana Green Power Hub, which will be the first hybrid project combining a major wind farm with a battery storage installation in Victoria. The first sod on the project was turned by Victoria energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio on Wednesday at the site, located on an old gold mine in Victoria. The project will deliver 100 per cent renewable energy to what will be the country’s biggest vegetable glasshouse, owned by Nectar Farms.
See RenewEconomy for more
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Profile: Lekha,
nExergy & ClimaCheck
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Lekha Patmanathan,
Co-Founder & Business Director,
ηEXERGY
After six years in Singapore working in consultancy and energy efficiency, Lekha saw the opportunity for effective, affordable and scalable solutions to address and improve some of the country's most energy intensive equipment required for cooling and climate control. So she co-founded ηEXERGY and supports the business development, operations and commercial aspects of the business. This revolves around i
ntroducing ClimaCheck, a Swedish technology that has been revolutionising performance analysis across cooling and heat pump systems in Europe for the past decade.
Read all about it.
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Global Climate Change Update
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UN to investigate emissions from ozone-damaging CFCs
A study
published
in scientific journal
Nature
found higher than expected levels of CFC-11 in the air, a human-made chemical known to deplete the ozone layer. It pointed to new sources coming from East Asia.
Soila Apparicio
reported this in Climate Home News.
CFCs, which were once found in aerosols, refrigerants, solvents and other products, were banned in 1996 under the Montreal Protocol. Aside from their ozone impact, they are potent global warming agents.
Read the full article here.
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11 ways the Paris climate deal is working in the real world
If you think Governments are taking their time to get their act together over climate change, you’re right. Pictured above is people power on a car free day in Barcelona.
In 2015 the Paris deal was struck but where’s the substance, the implementation? Not willing to wait, businesses, researchers, governments and citizens are coming up with new ways to move the climate to a safer place. Climate Change News has come up with just eleven.Try them in your country, city or community.
Read all about it.
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Healthy Food isn't Pie in the Sky!
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The global food system is a primary driver of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. It accounts for
one-third
of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and for the single greatest use of land (40%) and freshwater (
70%)
. At the same time, the food system is also failing to deliver nutritious diets. No less than
815 million
people continue to suffer from hunger and
2 billion
from micronutrient deficiencies, while 1.9 billion adults are overweight, of whom
600 million
are obese. These are all the good reasons why we need forums like these. The success of EAT Asia Pacific Food Forum last October in Jakarta, Indonesia, EAT Foundation is inviting participants from around the world to attend the next EAT Stockholm Food Forum on 11-12 June 2018.
More from the EAT Foundation.
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Cities of Love Awards 2018
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What are the 12 Ingredients for Sustainable Cities? Chairman of the World Green Building Council Tai Lee Siang can tell you. They're what drives him and what's at the heart of the Cities of Love Awards (COLA) he started last year. Cites of Love Awards are back for 2018. So a chance for more groups and individuals to be recognised.
Unlike many sustainability awards that are often given to prominent figures and enterprises who implement large-scale transformational projects, COLA recognises smaller efforts that are creating positive impacts on society. It was initiated by Inception, which was formed in Singapore in August 2010, by Valerie Ang and Tai Lee Siang, co-authors of the book
"Cities of Love".
See who won last year and where to look for the categories that best suit you. Cities of Love Awards are supported by Green in Future, SASA, ABC Carbon The Hickson Team and The Avenue for Creative Arts.
Read More
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National Sustainability in Business
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The Art of Sustainability in the
Age of Digital Disruption
Ken Hickson provides a global overview of how sustainability measures and management in companies and countries have evolved, often in parallel with the emergence of "the age of digital disruption". The new Industrial Revolution, largely observed as a technological or digital revolution, has been matched by the transformational megatrend of sustainability, along with what can only be called the Clean Energy Revolution and a gradual move to a Low Carbon Economy. Ken Hickson was one of the speakers at
2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference
, 8/9 March 2018 in Brisbane, Australia, addressing the topic: "The Art of Sustainability in the Age of Digital Disruption".
Go here for his speech notes.
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Shooting for Sustainable Development Goals
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The Asia Pacific region is failing to meet
almost two-thirds of the targets set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The world’s most populous region has fallen behind on 37 out of 57 sustainable development targets, with no progress seen in efforts to protect the oceans and forests, reduce inequality or take action on climate change, according to a
report
from the UN released last week. Eco-Business reports that Asia Pacific is performing well on one SDG - quality education
.
Read More
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan presented his Environment Strategy
to the London Assembly in which he set out his vision to make London the greenest city in the world, focusing on clean air, greener streets, reducing waste, tackling climate change – and his signature aim of becoming a zero-carbon city and at least 50 per cent green by 2050. “London is home to outstanding green spaces that I want to protect, invest in and improve as we aim to become the world’s first National Park City,” Sadiq Khan said.
Read More
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Your Chance to join Brands for Good
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Brands for Good
in Singapore is organised in partnership with non-profit organisation B Lab, which provides companies with a self-assessment toolkit on social responsibility commitment, as part of the nomination submission to be recognised as a Brand for Good. B Lab serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. It aims to drive a systematic change by building a global community of Certified B Corporations who meet the highest standards of verified, overall social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. SASA and ABC Carbon Express supports Brands for Good.
Read More Here.
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Last Word on
Energy, Plastic, Travel & Forests
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Keeping an Eye on Energy.
Armstrong Asset Management's EnergyEyes newsletter keeps us up to date
on
renewable energy developments in Southeast Asia.
The latest:
Vietnam is seeing a boom in the number of renewable projects, including The Blue Circle's wind turbines (pictured), as the country strives to mitigate the anticipated power shortage resulting from the cancellation of its nuclear project and the reduction of coal energy expansion.
Read More
Plastic Free Trust Mark.
Brainchild of United Kingdom's environmental campaign group A Plastic Planet, the Plastic Free Trust Mark will be awarded to food and drink products that are packaged without plastic. Designed to sit clearly on the front of the pack, the Mark informs consumers if they want to avoid plastic packaging. Campaigners hope this will lead to a radical reduction in the amount of single-use plastic packaging.
Read More
Positive impact travel.
Chickenfeet Travels
is
changing the way people travel in Southeast Asia. Singaporean Jin (Junxiu Lu) teamed up with her lawyer British friend Simon to make it easier to explore the region. They want to see a positive impact on the environment and communities visited. At the core of Chickenfeet’s philosophy is empowering local people, preserving nature and protecting wildlife for the future.
Mallika Naguran has the story.
"People of the Forest".
As part of the activities organised by the Climate Action Carnival, the Earth Observatory of Singapore is proud to present a public screening of its short documentary film 'People of the Forest: Orang Rimba' which has won awards around the world. It offers a brief but intimate look at the lives of the Orang Rimba, a minority group of a few thousand nomadic tribes-peoples who live throughout the forests of Jambi province in Sumatra, Indonesia.
There's more.
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